Review of Riviera Jan. 14-28 Caribbean Charms Cruise

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sorry for the lengthy delay in publishing this, but "better late than never."  This is the conclusion.  The full day-by-day blog, with lots of pictures, is available here.

 

This was our 26th cruise, but only the second on Oceania.  The first was in 2011 in an Inside Cabin on Insignia (one of their ‘R-ships’) and while it was a great introduction to cruising we weren’t wowed by the cabin or the food and so have taken over a decade to give Oceania another try.

 

This time it was on Riviera, one of their much newer ‘O-ships,’ and we were completely blown away by the ship, the cabin, the food and the entire experience – despite some pretty major Covid blips!

 

Itinerary – You’ve heard of ‘cruises to nowhere’?  This was the ‘cruise to wherever they will take us today’!  The original itinerary had 10 ports (all different).  Changes started early on and continued throughout the cruise.  In the end we called at 6 ports – one for an unexpected second day in port, and one for a second visit.

 

We were sorry to miss Martinique, where we had a private tour arranged through Tours by Locals (payment quickly refunded); not too sorry to miss the others that were skipped; and glad to visit Tortola BVI, which hadn’t been on the original itinerary.

 

The ship – Riviera is now 10 years old but thanks to refurbishing she looks almost brand new (and she is scheduled for another make-over later this year).  We had 600 passengers (slightly less than half the 1,250 capacity of the ship) but a full complement of 670 crew – giving this cruise the ratio that top luxury ships advertise.  The Cruise Critic roll call had a lot of last-minute cancellations, so I think Oceania was expecting a fuller ship – but kudos to Oceania that, unlike some other half-full cruises I’ve been reading about, all venues were open and providing top levels of service.

 

Our Cabin – We were in Penthouse Suite 10028, located right at the forward elevators.  This was an ideal location, with cabins above and below and no noise from the elevator lobby.  The cabin is really well designed, with tons of storage and both a desk and a make-up table that we used as a second desk [because DW is so naturally beautiful that she doesn’t need make-up].  The 2022 Riviera update will apparently redo this area so there is only one desk, but the extra space will accommodate a sofa to provide more flexible seating.

 

We booked on deck 10 because there are cabins above and below.  Many PH suites are on deck 11, below the sun deck which can be noisy.  If you book early enough, the two extreme-aft PH1s on deck 7 would be ideal [but keep this quiet, as they get snapped up fast enough as it is…]

 

Dining – We had booked all four of the specialty restaurants (that’s as many as you can get before boarding) early in the cruise, so that if we liked them we could go back.  Maybe it was because of the low passenger count, or because we had a PH suite (lowest level with a Butler) but our Butler was able to get us another round at our preferred time of 7:30.  We enjoyed all of them (Jacques, Red Ginger, Polo Grill, and Toscana).

 

The menus in the specialty restaurants don’t change, but there are many choices so we had no problem finding something we liked each time (sometimes repeating a really great dish, other times trying the other tempting choice on the menu).  So eight nights out of 14 in specialties (which do not have a cover charge on Oceania).

 

The food in the Grand Dining Room was about as good, but we did have trouble some nights finding anything that appealed.  Thankfully our Butler was able to get the GDR menus delivered to our cabin a few nights ahead, so we could spot those ‘weak’ nights and get a last-minute reservation at a specialty [this may not be so easy when the ships are full again].  It would be helpful if they could put the GDR menus on the cabin TV at the beginning of the cruise, but perhaps the chef hadn’t decided on his strategy without knowing where he would be able to re-provision.

 

Our one night in Terrace Café was disappointing.  While the food is very good, this is still a buffet.  If you arrive when it opens, the food will be reasonably fresh [though probably not quite as fresh as in the GDR] – but if you like to dine late as we do there will be a lot of dried-out dishes that have been sitting under heat lamps, and a carving joint that is down to its last fatty end.  And no ‘presentation’ in the plating – I really enjoy sitting down and having nicely-plated food brought to my table course-by-course.

 

Baristas has the only really good espresso machine on the ship, and it’s open all day – but its food offerings are limited.  I would arrange for some croissants to be delivered to my cabin [by my DW, but room service could do it] or get Eggs Benedict at the Terrace Café – and then take it up to Baristas to pair with perfect Lattes.

 

Gelato and ice cream are a big strength of Oceania – and their ice cream is as good as gelato.  They have a wide range of flavors that changes every day – including some pretty exotic flavors licensed from Humphry Slocombe of San Francisco [e.g. Elvis the Fat Years = Banana ice cream with Bacon Peanut Brittle – I didn’t try that one, but my favorite is Oceania’s signature HS flavor Regatta Royale = bittersweet dark fruity chocolate with orange zest and smoked sea salt.  Yum!]

 

The result of all this great food?  I haven’t had the courage to weigh myself.  There was apparently a scale in the house we rented for our snowbird escape, but it was stuck in the corner and I’m sure that’s because the little liar is being punished until it apologizes.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it...

 

Entertainment – The first night we had the usual introduction to the forthcoming production shows, but the next day all the singers and dancers went into Covid quarantine so there were no production shows until right at the end of the cruise.  The CD shuffled the special entertainers to fill in, and the lecturer was able to do all his planned lectures, so we didn’t feel lacking for entertainment – but if Vegas-style shows is your thing you would have been disappointed.

 

Comedian John Joseph was really funny, and the best part was that his jokes were all aimed at retired-age people like us.  I’m so glad to find a cruise line that still values my business and hasn’t kicked me to the side of the road in search of Millennials, like Celebrity. The other specialty entertainers were: magician Levent, who was entertaining even if you aren’t a ‘magic’ fan; pianist Linda Gentille who earned her chops with Liberace and combines light classical with great show(wo)manship; violinist Katerina Rossa [violin isn’t really our ‘thing’ but she was OK]; and soul singer Chris Burke [also just OK].  But still: five entertainers covering for the quarantined production cast (with two shows each) must have been an adjustment, and good for Oceania to have managed it.

 

Once the production singers were released, they did a great job with Broadway in Concert and World Beat [backed by the seven-member house band that had been available throughout the cruise].

 

Enrichment – Oceania has a highly-regarded Culinary Centre program with hands-on cooking lessons that unfortunately were banned by the CDC during our cruise.  After much negotiating with the CDC, they were able to offer cooking demos by Chef Steph with a reduced audience of 12 people (no touching, no sampling, only looking and drooling…) – but these sessions were free so we signed up for three of the five different topics (Fish, Jacques, Knives, Red Ginger, and Global Traveler [a selection of topics from several of the previous hands-on classes]).  All were very good, and apparently Oceania is considering continuing this format (maybe with tasting at the end) when allowed.

 

We also had lectures with oceanographer Russell Moll.  DW went to several of his lectures and enjoyed them.

 

There were several wine tastings [extra charge].  Most were of basic wines, but I attended the Top Cabs wine tasting – seriously good and worth the $95 [“plus 20%” as they always cautioned].

 

Interesting factoid:  there are 19 sommeliers on Riviera.  I don’t know, but I suspect that is way more than the number we had on Crystal Serenity (when I could never get a second glass of wine at dinner).

 

Many events onboard award ‘Oceania points’ that can later be redeemed for stuff you don’t need.  We didn’t participate in most of these, but DW spent half the cruise [it seemed...] going around the ship studying every piece of artwork and carpets and signage, trying to complete the art scavenger hunt.  She finally found the last one – and when she turned it in they didn’t even look at her form, just gave her the O point.  [Similar to most of the Covid tests we have been forced to take since September, which nobody ever looked at...]

 

Officers – One thing we did miss on this cruise as compared to our recent cruises on even-smaller ships (Azamara at 700 max; Noble Caledonia at around 100; and river ships at 150 or less) is the visibility and approachability of the Captain and senior officers.  Covid may have played a part in this, as it’s important to keep the Captain healthy!  But we never met the Captain on this cruise, and only know his voice from his very interesting noon nautical mini-lessons.

 

I really don’t need to meet the Captain, but I would contrast the availability of the Cruise Director, Hotel Director, and Executive Chef on Azamara, which is very helpful to give feedback that can be acted upon immediately.  Oceania is a well-oiled machine, but it does feel more like a machine than Azamara.

 

Amenities – Every upscale cruise line includes different amenities in the fare.  Oceania includes specialty restaurants but not alcohol, gratuities, or internet [in the ‘cruise-only fares’].  Azamara charges for specialty restaurants [except for top suites], but includes a basic alcohol package and gratuities, and internet minutes based on cabin category and loyalty level.  We were able to tag-team on the single internet connection included in our O-Life fare, but it feels much more luxurious to have a separate log-in for each person.

 

I would also contrast this cruise with the Suite Class offerings on mass-market cruise lines [Celebrity, MSC and NCL].  We have sailed on Celebrity and MSC and enjoyed the suites-only restaurants and the included amenities – until this cruise showed how much better it is when the entire ship is up to that standard and there are no lines anywhere.

 

As noted above re the ever-changing itinerary, Covid had a major impact on this cruise.  But I think Oceania handled it very well.  We were encouraged to test before arriving at the port (with the enticement that if we later tested positive Oceania would pick up the costs of quarantine and travel changes); Oceania then tested everyone at the port (no charge); and they planned to test everyone as required by any ports, except that the ports in question barred us anyway.  In addition to the entertainment crew, there were obviously some passengers with Covid on the cruise, as we saw crew in hazmat suits delivering room service to some cabins – but quick quarantine seems to have prevented further spreading.

 

Passengers were required to mask onboard except when in cabin or when eating or drinking – and most obeyed pretty well.  There was one obvious anti-masker who wore his mask Vincent Van Gogh style (dangling from his one ear…) in the theater.  After a few nights they changed the announcement to stress that the Captain would put you off the ship for refusing to comply, and then I shouted out “Right on.  Down front: put it on!”  After that he seemed to wear it, at least until the lights went down – I think he was scared to think that people were watching and clearly would rat him out to the Captain!

 

We also had one passenger who was never seen without a Cowboy Hat – a rotating display as he had obviously found room in his luggage for several – even during dinner in the specialty restaurants.  This seemed to trigger some other passengers in a thread on Cruise Critic, but as long as he wore a mask I decided to let this pass.  He did serve as a source of jokes to enliven dinner.  [It would have been a much different story if his big hat was blocking my view in the theater!]

 

Laundry – Oceania provides free laundromats (including supplies), and our cabin included several free bags for laundry service.  That was convenient, but I’m enjoying my newly form-fitting clothes courtesy of the laundry service. [Update:  the laundry service on our Scenic Gem river cruise this spring did not shrink my clothes.]

 

Oceania website – The Oceania website has its issues.  BTW, being down or flaky on Saturday evenings is a regular ‘feature.’  Don’t get agita if your booking seems to disappear over the weekend – on Monday morning all will be well.

 

Oceania pricing is complicated, and they push you to take the O-Life fare rather than ‘cruise-only.’  O-Life gets you one unlimited internet sign-on [per cabin] plus one of three options [for both passengers]:  shipboard credit [equal to the extra cost of O-Life]; basic beverage package [wine and beer with lunch and dinner only]; or a certain number of shore excursions [varies by cruise length].  If you choose the more expensive shore excursions, that choice will pay off.  If you are a heavy drinker [actually, if both of you are, since both passengers must choose the same option] that could pay.  But for most people I think the best choice is to book ‘cruise-only’ and pay for your drinks and shore excursions as you go.

 

They push O-Life so hard that it’s hard to get a true ‘cruise only’ price.  The only way around it that I know of is to figure out what the O-Life cost is for your cruise [they’re all different] and do the math yourself to see if any of the options is a net saving.

 

In these Covid times, the ship’s shore excursions are a better idea than previously.  When ports get cancelled and added, they are quick to refund and add new options.  Oceania has a nice range of choices, and if you take enough excursions you qualify for a 25% discount on all of them.  [We were forced to take O-Life to get a discount from our TA.  Our tastes are apparently unusual because the shore excursions we wanted were below the break-even cost for O-Life, so we took OBC and came out ahead.  But we did take mostly ship excursions because of the Covid issues and we got the 25% discount to bring their cost close to what private small-group excursions would have cost.]

 

One final thought:  I’ve been trying to figure out why DW and I experienced seemingly contradictory reactions to sharing tables on our recent cruises.  In September and November we cruised for 15 nights and 10 nights on Noble Caledonia, where we happily ate every meal [well, not breakfast – no conversation pre-coffee!] at shared tables and made lots of new British friends.  Then in January we took this cruise on Riviera and carefully avoided sharing tables [we even cancelled our reservations at La Reserve when we saw how close the seats are].

 

Why the difference, I’ve been wondering?  Especially since last fall was in the time of the Delta Covid variant, with its serious symptoms; while January was Omicron, more infectious but less deadly.  And the consequences of testing positive during or after the Med cruises [far from home and outside Medicare coverage] were much more severe than on a Miami round-trip where our own car was waiting to drive away ‘under the radar.’  So why didn’t we react in the exact opposite way?

 

It finally dawned on me, thanks to some recent posts on Cruise Critic describing negative encounters at sharing tables on Oceania.  On our first Oceania cruise, way back in 2011, we said yes to the sharing table offer – and twice ended up with the same group, which was dominated by a mother and daughter who flaunted their wealth and their ‘wonderfulness.’  [I should note that said mother was divorced from the father of said daughter, so everything was obviously not ‘wonderful’ in their life, while DW and I are celebrating our 48th anniversary as I write this.]

 

Thank God we did not have a repeat encounter early in the Noble Caledonia cruises, and were able to enjoy the mix of new and old companions at our shared tables!  It probably also factored in that we were conscious of being the only Americans on either Noble Caledonia cruise, so dining alone would have felt like we were either snooty or being ostracized, while on Oceania the restaurants are set up at present with so many two-tops that dining alone is pretty much the standard.

 

So at least in our case, Covid had nothing to do with it.  And I hope that on future cruises the opportunity for roll call shore excursions will have created enough pre-cruise bonding that we will feel comfortable inviting and accepting offers to share tables – just not with ‘entitled’ strangers...

 

Conclusion of the Conclusions:

 

Oceania has improved dramatically between 2011 and 2022.  The food on this cruise was the best of any we have had, including the vaunted Crystal Serenity in 2014.  And the service on Riviera was dramatically better than Crystal’s sad attempt at anytime dining.

 

Riviera is newer, brighter, with much improved cabins compared to the older R-class ships of Oceania and Azamara – but still feels like a small ship compared to all except the boutique ships of Noble Caledonia and the few others in the 100-passenger range.  And next year Oceania will debut the new A-class ships, which are about the same size as Riviera with an even more modern (but still nautical) feel.

 

The one area where Azamara and Noble Caledonia shine over Oceania is itineraries.  This was a Caribbean cruise, and I view Caribbean islands like lager beer [they’re all OK, but basically all alike…] so the itinerary changes didn’t bother me and Riviera is still small enough to get into less-overwhelmed ports away from the megaships.  But in the Med, Azamara’s country-intensive itineraries are much more appealing to us than Oceania’s samplers of well-known ports and Noble Caledonia takes full advantage of its boutique ships’ ability to dock almost anywhere.

 

To me, this was a perfect Oceania cruise.  The small numbers made service amazing.  Oceania did a terrific job of finding new ports to replace cancelled ones so it wasn’t a week of sea days.  The ambience on board made sea days most relaxing, and the PH suite was large enough that we never felt cramped.  If we can find another enticing itinerary, we will be back on Oceania.

[kjbacon]

Your review is a great read and very balanced. Thank you for bringing back good memories!

[PhD-iva]

Thx for your great summary. I loved my December 2021 (solo) cruise on Riviera! Next up, March 2023 TA from Aruba to Lisbon.

[LHT28]

yes  makes a difference from an inside  to a PH  😉

 

 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

17 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

yes  makes a difference from an inside  to a PH  😉

Actually, while real, that was the least of the improvements.  Our biggest complaint in 2011 was the variability in the food [centered on their inability to cook a steak medium-rare], and the best part of the 2022 cruise was the amazing food everywhere [and steaks cooked exactly as ordered].

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Actually, while real, that was the least of the improvements.  Our biggest complaint in 2011 was the variability in the food [centered on their inability to cook a steak medium-rare], and the best part of the 2022 cruise was the amazing food everywhere [and steaks cooked exactly as ordered].

It depends on who is in the kitchen

you got lucky in 2022 LOL

 

[tgg]

As one of the many who cancelled this cruise late, I want to thank you for your detailed review.  We wondered how things had gone for those who chose to sail.   I now know we made the right decision for us. The mask requirement would have been tough for us. Instead we sailed on the Azamara Quest in March (no masks) and had a great time. Our credit from Oceania has been applied to the 18 day Lima to Miami sailing in March 2023 on Marina.

 

John and I are sorry we didn't meet you. Perhaps on another cruise on Azamara or Oceania.

[ronrick1943]

Nice review, great that you took the time. Thanks.

[sunlover12]

In non-pandemic times, there is a Captain’s Reception one evening where you have the opportunity to meet the Captain and Senior officers in the welcome line as you enter the lounge. I was on Regatta in March and this happened. We had a nice conversation with the General Manager as we left.  He was friendly and approachable. 
I am guessing your cruise had the reception cancelled because of Covid. 
 

Thanks for your detailed review. 

[MEFIowa]

I think you mean the TERRACE Cafe, aft, which can include dining under the stars, as my wife and I did many nights on our Riviera cruise (12/23-23/21, W. Caribbean).

 

Timing made all the difference between your cruise and ours. We had no masking, few COVID worries, met the captain and his senior staff in the smoking area near Horizons (my wife smokes), and had an all around great time. Made all the ports but the silly private island in the Bahamas which was cancelled due to high waves prohibiting tendering.

[JoePDX]

Thank you for the great review.

 

FYI - internet has been included in the cruise fare for some time now.  It did used to be included only if you opted for O-Life.   This is limited to one device logged in at one time per stateroom.

 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005488873-What-is-Wavenet-WiFi-

 

Joe

[LHT28]

40 minutes ago, JoePDX said:

Thank you for the great review.

 

FYI - internet has been included in the cruise fare for some time now.  It did used to be included only if you opted for O-Life.  

 

 

Joe

It was included even for cruise only  fares

 We rarely take the O Life perk

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, JoePDX said:

Thank you for the great review.

 

FYI - internet has been included in the cruise fare for some time now.  It did used to be included only if you opted for O-Life.   This is limited to one device logged in at one time per stateroom.

 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005488873-What-is-Wavenet-WiFi-

 

Joe

 

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

It was included even for cruise only  fares

 We rarely take the O Life perk

 

Thanks for clarifying.  Another example of misleading Oceania marketing – they make it sound like you only get the internet with O Life.  No wonder the explanations of how things really work on Oceania are so long and convoluted:  Oceania made it that way!

[pinotlover]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:51 PM, sunlover12 said:

In non-pandemic times, there is a Captain’s Reception one evening where you have the opportunity to meet the Captain and Senior officers in the welcome line as you enter the lounge. I was on Regatta in March and this happened. We had a nice conversation with the General Manager as we left.  He was friendly and approachable. 
I am guessing your cruise had the reception cancelled because of Covid. 
 

Thanks for your detailed review. 

Actually, it depends upon the Captain. Some of Oceania’s Captains never attend any function including the Captain’s reception. One , I remember was self conscious about his poor English and was never seen by the passengers. The GM filled in for everything. Even the noon talk was done by the CD. Other Captains, like Max, are always out and about greeting guests and attending the various functions. This is not a pandemic issue, but a Captain’s choice issue on Oceania. Jazz didn’t get lucky with his draw of ship’s Captain.

[DENIE]

Thanks Host Jazzbeau!  We are looking forward to our first Oceania (and Riviera!) cruise in June, from Rome to Barcelona.  Great review! 🙂

[Redtravel]

At least you stopped in 6 places.  My last O cruise on Sirena March 2020 stopped at 2.  Things are getting better.